


Huge Success

by RebeccaOTool



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Funny, Shrinking, ant-man - Freeform, shrank, shrink ray, shrunk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-07
Updated: 2013-05-11
Packaged: 2017-12-10 15:41:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 7,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/787698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RebeccaOTool/pseuds/RebeccaOTool
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony Stark meets the Pym Partical formula, and mischief ensues.</p><p>Written prior to the Ant-Man movie, and subsequently outside the cannon. Set between Iron Man one and two.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Even with all the strange things that had happened to her since Tony had come out of the super-hero closet, Pepper had to admit, this was a new one. It wasn't the sight of Tony Stark sitting on his desk in deep thought that alarmed her; what was alarming was the fact that he was seated on an old optical mouse.

Her employer was six inches high.

Pepper stifled a small gasp as she approached the work desk he was on top of. Tony didn't seem worried, but looked mildly embarrassed when he saw her.

"Ah, hello Pepper. Did I send for you?"

"No, but it's almost time for your meeting with the board members." Pepper tried to keep her voice at a semblance of normality.

"Um…yeah, why don't you go ahead and cancel that."

"I'll get right on it." Pepper bent down to get a better look at him. He didn't seem to be hurt... "Do I actually have to point out the obvious or are you going to explain?"

"Please, point it out. It makes me look that much smarter." He replied, smiling slightly.

"Why are you suddenly the size of a doll?"

"First of all, don't say _doll_. It's girly. I'm not the size of a doll, I'm the size of an _action figure_."

"Duly noted Mr. Stark." Pepper restrained herself from rolling her eyes, something she'd become quite good at while working for Tony. "Now, would you explain why you are your own action figure?"

"Better." Tony nodded. "Remember that sample of serum that Dr. Pym sent me?"

"Yes, although he sent it to the company's lab, not _you_ personally."

"Same thing. At least, it should be. It turns out he made the sample tamper proof--this is his idea of security against industrial espionage." Tony sighed, slipping off the mouse and onto his feet. "Miniaturization technology for living matter. Ingenious, but unpredictable as hell."

"Are you stuck this way?" A note of concern stuck out stubbornly in her voice.

"For a while, yes. It should wear off." Tony shrugged.

"Well…good." Relief washed over her. "Do you need anything?"

"Actually, yeah. If you wouldn't mind accompanying me upstairs, that would be really helpful. I can't do anything in the lab until this wears off, and without being able to work it's incredibly boring down here." Tony approached the edge of the desk expectantly.

"Oh, um…sure. I can do that." Pepper murmured. She slowly laid her hands face-up on the desk in front of him. Tony stepped on, settling lightly in her hands.

"Just carry me up to the couch, I'll kill a few hours in front of the TV." He instructed.

"Sure."

Pepper took the staircase up very slowly for fear of jostling her employer. Tony leaned against her fingers, apparently completely comfortable with his predicament. She'd have to check the security tapes for the lab later, though--seeing his initial reaction upon becoming miniature would be worthwhile.

"This is fine Potts, if you would just--hey, watch the nails, watch the nails!" Tony shouted as she gently set him on the vast white sofa. "You practically ran me through with those."

"Maybe if I wasn't here all day every day I could make the time to visit a nail salon." Pepper said dryly.

"Go now. Nothing stopping you." Tony replied.

"Go now."

"Yes. Go now. Take the afternoon off."

"Go out for the afternoon when my employer, who recently outed himself as a superhero and is now the target of several terrorist groups, has shrunk down to the size of an action figure."

"Now that you're finished summarizing, go." Tony waved her off.

"Tony, you're completely helpless, I'm not going to leave you alone!"

"I'm not helpless. I have JARVIS." Tony replied. "JARVIS, switch on the TV."

"You are not authorized to access that function." JARVIS's voice emanated from a wall speaker.

Tony frowned at this. "JARVIS it's me."

"The facial scan says that you are Tony Stark, but the voice recognition program says you're not." JARVIS replied. "Security protocol on voice overrides facial recognition. As such, I cannot obey your orders."

"JARVIS you _know_ it's me!"

"I cannot override the safety protocols." JARVIS replied coolly. "Only Tony Stark and Miss Potts have that access."

"Pepper, make him listen to me!" Tony's voice was coming dangerously close to a whine.

"JARVIS, use a sliding scale on the vocal print program." Pepper tried unsuccessfully to hide a smile.

"Very good Miss Potts."

Tony growled under his breath. "JARVIS, turn on the TV."

"Yes Mr. Stark." The TV flipped on. "Good to have you back."

Pepper sat on the couch, making the cushion dip under Tony. "I think I'll stick around until this wears off. Just in case something else you built decides to rebel."

"Fine. But if I hear you or JARVIS making jokes, I'm going to exact some major vengeance later."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Pepper smiled down at him.

"Mr. Stark is a little short tempered as a result of the Pym particles." Had JARVIS had a face, he would have been smirking. Pepper laughed quietly.

"Of all the robot butlers I could have built, I make one with a sense of humor." Tony grumbled. This was going to be a long day.

0o0o0o0o0

To Be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

He was going to kill Hank Pym. Or make him head of a department, Tony wasn't sure which yet. This was undoubtedly brilliant--not only had Pym found a way around the laws of physics that specifically stated shrinking was impossible, he'd managed it so that all particles, living and non, would be effected. It was a good thing too--Pepper had seen Tony in the all-together a number of times, but shrinking out of his clothes would have been too embarrassing.

At least he'd been sitting at the desk when he opened the vial. If he'd been standing on the floor somewhere he would have been trampled under Pepper's prada. He'd been bent over the desk while opening the vial, and had felt a sudden blow to the stomach. It was the desk rushing up at him--or rather, him shrinking to meet it. He'd been stuck on top it by the time he'd figured out what was happening.

After the initial bout of disbelief and disorientation, he spent the time pondering his predicament. The contents of the vial would wear off, he was sure. The only thing that sucked was the waiting--he'd been scheduled for a fundraiser-type event tonight. No way in hell he was doing it like this.

He wouldn't be able to use the suit either. If something came up he'd be unable to act.

'Let's just hope now isn't when a terrorist decides to take a bus-full of school kids hostage.' He sighed aloud. "Pepper, schedule a meeting with Hank Pym tomorrow just in case this hasn't worn off."

"Yes Mr. Stark." Pepper shot him a look of unease before getting up to make the call.

'She really hates leaving me alone like this.' Tony watched her go. It was ludicrous. Nothing was going to happen, he was just hanging out on the couch.

Bored of the TV program, he took a few steps across the plush surface. It was like walking across a giant trampoline. Intrigued, he jumped a few inches.

In retrospect, he should have looked around first.

"No, no, no!" The bound sent him careening into the canyon between the couch cushions. He bounced off the cushion a few times on the way down, slowing his brief fall. He landed, winded but unhurt, on the frame of the couch.

"Well, that was…unexpected." He gazed up at the lip of the cushion. Perhaps he could climb back up.

"Mr. Stark?"

Then again, maybe he wouldn't need to. "Pepper, I'm down here!"

"Tony, where are you?"

"I'm in between the cushions!"

"JARVIS what happened to Tony?"

"I'm not sure Miss Potts. It's hard to track Mr. Stark with his current dimensions; allow me to scan the surveillance tapes."

"Damnit Pepper, get me out of here!" Tony was yelling at the top of his lungs. Not that it mattered--it seemed that Pepper couldn't hear him. Either his voice was to weak or the cushions were absorbing the sound.

"It doesn't matter which it is." He grumbled and began to climb. The upholstery provided plenty of hand and footholds, so it wouldn't be hard to--

The cushions suddenly squishing together cut off this train of thought, along with his breathing.

'This is not happening.' He wriggled desperately, but to no avail.

There was a rush of air as one cushion was pulled away. Tony flopped back onto the frame of the couch, coughing heavily.

"Tony! Oh my God, are you alright?" Pepper's face bloomed into his vision.

"Not so--loud." He managed between coughs.

Pepper scooped him up. One finger rubbed his back in a soothing motion.

"It's a good thing I checked the cushions. How did you get down there?" She demanded once he could breathe.

"…I fell."

"In the ten seconds I was gone you walked halfway across the couch just to fall down the middle."

"Yeah." He tried his best innocent expression.

Pepper just shook her head. "If anyone else had told me you could get into trouble with nothing but yourself and a couch--"

"You would have believed them." Tony grinned up at her.

"Yes, probably." Pepper sat down but didn't put him back on the cushion. "I'm just going to have to keep a closer eye on you, Mr. Stark."

Tony winced, but didn't argue.

"I have the tape isolated from when Mr. Stark 'fell' if you wish to view it." JARVIS put in.

"Just e-mail it to me, I'll look at it later." Pepper replied.

"JARVIS don't send that file!"

"Sorry sir, already sent."

"Remind me to take a long hard look at your programming when this is over JARVIS." Tony glared at JARVIS's camera 'eye'.

"I'll put it on your to-do list, sir."

0o0o0o0o0

To be Continued...


	3. Chapter 3

"I don't know how you talked me into this. It's just a bad idea."

"It's not a bad idea. I don't have bad ideas."

"What about sleeping with Miss October 2006?"

"That wasn't bad, merely…misguided."

"Right."

"Pepper, you may be bigger than me, but I'm still your boss, and I want to relax in the hot-tub. So make it happen."

Pepper rolled her eyes and set Tony on the plastic lip of the tub. "When you drown, don't come running to me."

"I'm not going to drown. The jets are off and you're right there. What's the worst that could happen?" Tony replied as he waded onto the arm-rest, water quickly washing over his legs and waist. The industrialist was currently clothed in a pair of G.I. Joe swim trunks surreptitiously borrowed from his action figure collection. He'd managed to convince Pepper that a long soak in the hot-tub would do him good after his near-smothering.

Pepper watched him intensely, ready to dive in (literally) should anything seem wrong. Tony, however, seemed to be doing fine as he paddled from one armrest to the other. He'd always liked swimming, and between the pool and his workshop he stayed in shape. He preferred the hot-tub more for it's entertainment purposes; many a starlet had turned up in the mansion sopping wet during strange hours of the night.

Tony rested on the other armrest. "You should join me Pepper. It's a perfect day for relaxing."

"I'll relax when you're not in danger of getting sucked into the filter." Pepper replied. Nonetheless, she removed her shoes and dipped her feet into the tub.

Tony sighed and leaned back against the wall of the tub. Hot water was still soothing, no matter how small you were.

The ring of the poolside phone didn't even cause him to open his eyes. "Would you?"

"Of course." Pepper reached over. "Tony Stark's pool."

"Hello Pepper. How are you?" Jim Rhodes inquired.

"Jim, hello! I'm…fine."

"You don't sound fine."

"…It's been a hectic morning." She glanced down at Tony.

The industrialist's face had gone pale. He couldn't talk to Rhodey like this--the teasing would never end. "Tell him I'm not here!"

"Tony's out for the day. Meeting with the board." Pepper lied smoothly.

"That's fine, I just needed to drop a few papers off for him. I can leave them with you." Rhodey replied.

"Oh, um, yes, that'll work."

"Good. I'll see you soon." Rhodey replied.

"Bye." Pepper hung up. "He's coming to drop off some papers."

"Pepper, you _cannot_ let Rhodey see me like this."

"It'll be fine, I'll meet him in the front hall and leave you in the kitchen." Pepper gently scooped him out of the water. "There will be plenty of objects large enough for you to hide behind in case he comes in."

"Well…okay." Tony sounded skeptical of the plan.

"But--" Pepper brought him up to her face, "--You have to promise not to go anywhere else. I don't want to lose track of you."

"Scout's honor. Just set it up now, before he gets here." Tony replied quickly.

"Alright." Pepper grabbed the rest of his clothing and detoured into the kitchen. It was filled with useful gadgets in case Tony ever wanted to cook his own meals. Usually, though, he stuck to eating out or making frozen entrees.

Pepper set him on the counter. "You can duck behind the blender if he comes in."

"That'll do fine. Just try to get him out of here quickly."

"I'll do my best." Pepper promised. "JARVIS, keep an eye on him, okay?"

"Yes Miss Potts."

"You have serious trust issues, Potts." Tony called as she left. Cold from the sudden lack of hot-water, he put on his dry clothing.

Finding himself alone for the third time since this business had started, Tony wandered across the counter-top. There was nothing interesting enough for him to try and manipulate at this size. He peeked over the edge of the counter, calculating the drop to the floor.

He suddenly wished he had the suit. He'd love to get flight data for this scale--perhaps if the Pym partials could be portioned out properly…

This thought was derailed suddenly as the sound of Rhodey approaching the kitchen met him. Tony dashed behind the blender.

"I _know_ he's not at the board meeting, and the last time he lied about something like that he destroyed one of my airplanes."

"Jim, really, he's not here." Pepper followed the airman into the kitchen. "I'm not sure where he is. The suit is here though, if you want to check."

"Nope. If it was something to do with Iron Man Tony would tell me." Rhodey grinned. "As long as he's not destroying something with it, I don't need to know. Just tell him he can't BS me that easily."

"Thank you Watson." Tony muttered, and retreated backwards.

The lack of ground under his feet took a moment to register. He was sliding down some slick metal surface towards a dark landing. Tony threw his hands out to catch hold of something, but there was nothing to catch hold of. He was shouting as well, but judging the distance he'd already fallen, Pepper probably wouldn't hear him.

Finally, he tumbled to a surprisingly painless stop. Tony blinked, the dim light from his chest illuminating the space.

He'd fallen into the electrical ducts of the house.

"…So _that's _where the kitchen access-port is."__

__0o0o0o0o0_ _

__To be continued..._ _


	4. Chapter 4

The circuitry necessary to keep JARVIS and the many other robotic functions of the house working had been cleverly concealed when the mansion had been built. Tony had designed access ports in all the rooms so he could run JARVIS in anywhere. It resulted in a number of small holes everywhere in the mansion, but they'd all been pretty-well concealed.

So well concealed that he'd forgotten about the placement of the one in the kitchen.

Tony craned his neck skyward. No way he'd be able to climb back up--at this scale it was nearly a quarter mile of featureless metal angled too steeply to climb.

"Pepper!" He shouted. The echo reverberated weakly.

'It's no good. My voice isn't loud enough.' Tony turned away from the shaft. Pepper was probably still entertaining Rhodey--no telling how long it would be before she noticed he'd gone missing.

He wasn't sure exactly how far he'd fallen, but the control center for the electronics was suspended above his basement workshop. It was impossible to get to it, except for a lone access panel.

"I guess I'll head there." Tony stepped over several wires. Talking to yourself wasn't crazy, he decided, as long as the circumstances you did it in were far more insane. This qualified.

The tangle of circuits and switch-boards belied the order in the rest of the house. Tony found himself clambering over untidy piles of cables and circuit boards. Were it not for his arc reactor and the various blinking lights, it would have been completely dark.

A missed foothold sent Tony sprawling onto the steel floor. A painful vibration of metal went through his chest, sending strange tremors through his whole body. He gasped and lay still. Slowly, the sensations faded.

"Okay, next time, watch where you step." He got back to his feet. If anything damaged the arc reactor while he was this size there would be no way to repair it.

Come to think of it, if anything damaged his _body_ it would be impossible to get medical attention.

"I didn't consider that." Tony murmured, taking a detour around a large pile of cables. When he got out of here (and he would get out of here) he was going to have Pepper call Pym right away. 

He walked for what seemed like miles, although the darkness and the obstructions probably had a lot to do with that. The comforting hum of electricity in the wires kept the creepiness at a minimum.

Finally, a light emerged in the dark. Tony cautiously approached the glow. If he stepped onto the grate it could give way under his feet, sending him hurtling toward the floor. He just couldn't die that way--the tabloids would have a field day.

Tony knelt down in front of the grate. His workshop was laid out before him. From this angle he could see nearly everything. He cast a wistful glance at the Iron Man suit.

"Well, the sooner I get out of this mess, the sooner I can use it." He tapped the bars cautiously. The latch for the grate was on the other side, since it opened outward not inward. Still, there had to be some way to reach it.

He eyed the wires curiously. Maybe if one could be dislodged he could use it as a rope and slide down.

He set to tugging on the wires, trying to find a loose connection. He was quickly rewarded--a thick yellow cable yielded under his hands. He dragged as much of it as he could to the grate and fed it through the bars. It really was a good thing he hadn't stepped onto the grate--at this size he could have fallen right through the bars.

"I finally had some good luck." Tony murmured, examining the cable. It reached pretty far, but didn't come close to the floor. Maybe if he could dislodge a coupler--

A loud WHUMMM interrupted him. A blast of cold air hit the billionaire.

'Right. This is an air-duct.'

A sudden pressure was sucking him backwards.

Tony risked a glance back. The rapidly-rotating blades of an industrial steel fan came into view.

"Oh."

0o0o0o0o0

To be Continued...


	5. Chapter 5

Tony's grip on the cable was weakening. If he let go, he'd be instantly sucked into the fan. His feet were beginning to slide backwards--if he lost contact with the floor he'd be left hanging from the wire sideways until he lost his grip, and…yeah. But hanging on vertically was getting him nowhere.

The only other option was down.

"I can either get chopped to bits or smashed onto the floor." He looked down. The cable didn't come near the floor, dangling many feet above the concrete of his workshop.

"Uncertain death beats certain death." He stepped in between the bars. He hovered for a moment as gravity fought wind. Then, he was falling.

'That's been happening a lot since this started.' He clung to the cable, stopping his descent. The wire only extended a few feet out of the grate. No way he could survive the drop.

"JARVIS, get Pepper down here now!" Tony yelled down. No response. 'Damn. JARVIS must not be able to hear me.'

Tony looked around desperately for anything that he could grab hold of. The ceiling extended smoothly in all directions. And already, his grip was weakening.

"Oh God, I do _not_ want to die like this." Tony groaned, sliding down the cable. "On the slim chance that anyone can hear me, HELP!"

Still no response from JARVIS.

"DamndamnDAMN!" His hands slipped from the cable. He shut his eyes as the floor rushed up at him.

'It won't hurt, I'll be dead the second I hit the--'

PAFF!

'…ground?'

Tony's eyes flew open. He was lying flat on--something--still suspended many feet above the floor. He looked down slowly, unable to comprehend what was happening.

Seems that somebody had heard him after all. The 'hand' of one of his robotic assistants had caught him.

The machine whirred in a worried manner as it set him down on the floor.

"Good boy." Tony murmured breathlessly. "You guys keep saving my life, I'm gonna have to upgrade you."

The robot rolled back a few feet, apparently inspecting him.

"You." He pointed up at it. "Punch code 7-1-8 into JARVIS's control panel. That'll get Pepper down here."

The robot rolled over to the wall panel and did as it was told. 7-1-8 was the code for Pepper's pager. It would display the workshop number and, with any luck, Pepper would figure out what had happened and come get him.

Tony scurried over to the leg of his desk. His earlier thought about being stepped on by Pepper seemed less funny now. He glanced upwards. No way he could climb back onto the desk--it seemed even larger now than it had when he'd been on top of it.

It wasn't long before Tony heard footsteps descending the stairs. Pepper was hurrying down them, followed by Rhodey.

'She must have told him what happened.' Tony wasn't as upset by the prospect of being teased as he'd been earlier. "Potts! Down here!"

Pepper didn't seem to have heard him. She and Rhodey shared the same look of grim assessment that Tony often found himself witness to.

"Rhodey!" Tony risked stepping out from the desk's shadow in front of them as the two walked through the door. They'd have to spot him that way.

A wave of disorientation washed over Tony. He'd been looking up at Pepper since he'd been shrunk, but never from this low. It was weird.

His ploy worked--Pepper and Rhodey both spotted him.

"Holy..." Rhodey gaped down at his friend. "I thought you said he was six inches tall!"

"I did--I mean, he _was_." Pepper paled.

"What do you mean, I was?" Tony asked, already anticipating the answer. A lot of things about the perspective in the tunnel, as well as on the floor, suddenly made a lot more sense.

Pepper didn't seem to have heard him. She knelt on the floor. "Tony, what happened to you?"

"You tell me--I can't get a decent grasp on size or perspective."

"You're only three inches high."

Tony pondered this for a moment. "Ah."

Pepper carefully picked him up. Tony noted, with a sinking sensation, that she only needed one hand now--he was all but engulfed in her fingers.

Rhodey watched him curiously. "You didn't notice losing half your size?"

"Not in between the falling into a pitch-black vent, nearly getting chopped up, and then falling some more." Tony tried to be nonchalant and failed. "Pepper, I think you'd better call Dr. Pym."

"Already done." Pepper carefully placed him onto the desk.

Now, with other objects to compare with scattered on the desktop, Tony saw that they were right. He was smaller than before. He warily eyed a few scattered pens and pencils on the desktop. Right now they were taller than he was.

Rhodey bent down to get a better look at him. "Tony, how…?"

"Didn't Pepper explain about the Pym particles?"

"Yes, but…still." Rhodey looked like he was about to laugh.

"It's not funny."

"For one thing--yes, it is funny. It wouldn't be that funny, except for the fact that you sound like a chipmunk." Rhodey informed him.

"I do not!"

"Not to yourself, but to us you do." Pepper said without any trace of mirth. "Your vocal chords are smaller too, Tony."

"Maybe that's why JARVIS couldn't hear me. The last three inches were too much." Tony sighed. Something had re-triggered the shrinking process, and for all he knew, it could still be going. If Pym didn't get here soon…

"Let's wait upstairs, alright?" Pepper was speaking very softly. Tony nodded and allowed himself to be picked up.

Rhodey continued to stare at him unabashedly as they went upstairs. "You said something about almost being chopped up?"

"It's a long story."

"We've got time."

"Fine. But once I'm done, you have to quit staring at me."

"Deal."

0o0o0o0o0

to be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

Pepper managed to conceal her horror as Tony reiterated what had happened to him in the ducts. She'd noticed his disappearance very quickly while pretending to tidy up the kitchen. Rhodey had sensed something was up--being Tony's best friend for so many years seemed to have given him instincts about when the man was in trouble.

She's given him a briefing on the way to the workshop, after calling Dr. Pym for help. Her beeper had flashed just as she'd been getting off the phone. Contrary to Tony's fears, Rhodey didn't really think it was all that funny--he had been worried about finding Tony too. Of course, now that Tony was located, he could relax slightly…

"I guess we'll have to change your name to Iron-Mite."

"That would be a stinging pun, were it not for the fact that it makes no sense. Until I get back to normal, that suit is approximately useless."

"You could turn it into a skyscraper and live in it. Gives new meaning to the term 'mobile home.'" Rhodey grinned.

"I'll remember that next time your supervisor kicks you out for flirting with a non-military defense company." Tony paced unhappily across the arm of the couch. Rhodey was actually trying to distract him from his predicament, but it wasn't working.

"Dr. Pym said he'd be here within the hour." Pepper said.

"Did you tell him what happened?"

"No, just that you needed to see him right away about the Pym Particles."

"If he's not a moron he'll figure it out. The company wasn't even supposed to have access to that sample until he came by the lab." Tony said glumly. "It was only with us as an insurance policy."

"Then why did you tamper with it?" Pepper pressed.

"Curiosity…" Tony gave her a wry smile.

"And next comes the part where you repent your actions, swearing never to open Pandora's Box again, at least until the next shiny toy comes along." She replied.

"You know me _so_ well."

"Okay, lets assume Dr. Pym will have an idea about what's happened--that doesn't guarantee he'll be able to fix it." Rhodey was serious now. "And if he can't reverse this--"

"Then my company will have to re-open the chemical weapons branch." Tony said dismissively.

"That'll be great, assuming you don't shrink to nothing while they're working on a cure." Rhodey replied.

"I haven't gotten any smaller since the vent--it may have been a one-time thing."

"Let's hope so."

"Miss Potts, there's a car approaching the gate registered to Dr. Pym." JARVIS spoke up.

"Great." A smile briefly crossed Pepper's face . "I'll bring him up."

"Rhodey, I'm going to ask you for something, and if you make fun of me, I swear to God I'll find a way to get you."

"Okay."

"…pick...mumble mumble…."

"What was that?"

"I said 'pick me up'." Tony felt his face go uncharacteristically red. Humiliation was not in his day-to-day vocabulary. "I don't want to talk to Pym from the arm of this couch."

"Ah." Rhodey was smiling now. "No problem."

Rhodey held his hand flat on the couch, palm up. With some trepidation, Tony stepped on. He wished Pepper hadn't gone downstairs--he knew Rhodey wouldn't drop him, but Pepper wouldn't make fun of him.

Slowly, Rhodey brought his hand up. "If I were a less intelligent man, I'd make a crack about having you in the palm of my hand, figuratively and literally."

"You've never had me figuratively, and you're lucky to have me literally." Tony rolled his eyes.

"Then I'll enjoy it while it lasts."

"You never enjoy anything--it's a job requirement for the air-force."

"Your thinking of the FBI."

"I don't know, Mulder and Scully had some good times."

"Closet-geek."

The wordplay was interrupted as Pepper re-entered the room with an average-looking brown haired, brown eyed man.

"Dr. Hank Pym--Tony Stark."

Dr. Pym studied Tony for a moment. "Funny--I thought you'd be taller."

0o0o0o0o0

To be continued...


	7. Chapter 7

Pepper suppressed a groan as the greeting fell flat. Tony regarded Dr. Pym for a moment before allowing a ghost of a smile to cross his face.

"I should have expected that."

Dr. Pym shrugged. "Your sense of humor is legendary--mine is much less well known."

He offered his hand to Rhodey. "You must be Jim Rhodes."

"Yes." Rhodey shook with his free hand, a tad awkwardly. Dr. Pym was handling this a little _too_ well.

"Now that we all know each other, can we get to the business of un-smurfing me?" The smile had dropped off Tony's face.

"Of course." Dr. Pym murmured. "I half-expected one of the technical advisers to have gotten into the particles, but not Mr. Tony Stark himself. Makes this all a bit more awkward."

"This would be less awkward if someone else was shrunk?" Rhodey replied.

"Well…yes, a little. If I'd known someone with a nuclear reactor in their chest--"

"Arc reactor."

"--an arc reactor in their chest would get into the particles, it would have stopped me from sending them. Obviously, mixing the two has resulted in some rather unpredictable results." Dr. Pym frowned. "You should be six inches tall--there weren't enough partials in the vial to do more."

"I _was_ six inches tall." Tony grumbled. "After nearly getting killed by my house, I wound up like this."

"Do you have any idea what triggered it?" Dr. Pym pressed.

Tony thought for a moment. "I took a bad fall and the reactor gave off some weird vibes."

"That could be it. If I knew more about how the reactor worked, I could say for sure why it happened." Dr. Pym eyed the speck of light wistfully.

"You and every other scientist on the planet wants to know that information, Dr. Pym." Tony replied. "Can you get me back to normal without knowing all the ins and outs of my reactor?"

"…I _could_." Dr. Pym admitted begrudgingly. "But it would be a lot safer if--"

Tony dismissively waved one hand. "I've already survived several near-death experiences today. How much worse could it get?"

"Please don't challenge that." Pepper murmured.

"I brought some antidote with me." Pym removed a small steel box from his jacket. "Just in case."

"This doesn't wear off?" Tony asked.

"Of course not! Can you imagine what would happen if it wore off while someone was in a small pipe, for example? They'd be crushed to death!" Pym looked horrified. "The effects of the particles can be reversed, but only with the antidote. Otherwise, they're completely permanent."

"Of course." Tony felt a twinge of unease. Pym could easily leverage this into blackmail: if word got out that Iron Man was out of commission due to sudden onset shrimp-ness, things could get very ugly very fast. Simply withholding the cure could prove disastrous after another day or so. A man like Tony Stark couldn't call in sick.

"Dr. Pym," Tony squared his shoulders, feeling a little ridiculous. Gaining an extra millimeter with a straight spine wasn't going to help him in his negations with Pym. Damn power-meeting tactics never worked like they were supposed to. "How long before we can begin the treatment?"

Pym grinned. "I just need a few things that should be common to Stark Laboratories."

Tony held in a sigh. "Fine. Rhodey, Miss Potts--field trip time."

0o0o0o0o0

To be continued...


	8. Chapter 8

"I said NO and I meant NO!"

"But if a guard sees you--"

"What? They'll throw me out of my own company for being miniature?"

"If words gets out--"

"I've thought of that already Rhodey, believe me. If anyone comes, just reach into your jacket or something."

"Fine. But I don't like this plan."

"This barely qualifies as strategy, let alone a plan. Get over yourself."

Rhodey groaned under his breath. The three people who knew about Tony's condition were currently standing in the parking lot of Stark Enterprises. Tony himself was standing on Rhodey's hand. They'd just been arguing the merits of placing Tony in Pepper's purse, at least until they passed the front gates. It made sense--the only problem was that Tony flatly refused to go along with it.

"I have my pride."

"Your pride was what got you into this mess in the first place." Rhodey was about two seconds from shoving Tony into Pepper's purse, zipping it, and forgetting that his life had become a bad comic book plot.

"Technically, my curiosity _aided_ by my pride got me into this mess." Tony replied.

"Duly noted. Can we get on with this?" Pepper cut in.

"Yeah." Tony flashed her an innocent look as if he hadn't been holding up the group for twenty minutes arguing.

"I can only imagine how he explained being Iron Man to the two of you." Pym muttered under his breath as they walked.

"No, you can't." Pepper replied, a touch less grim. "Keep watching, you may get an idea."

Rhodey slipped his hand under the hem of his jacket as they entered the compound. The guard waved them ahead, giving little regard to Pym.

"Thank God for government issue cologne." Tony commented once they were past the last checkpoint. "How else would we know what diesel fumes mixed with jet runoff smells like?"

"It's better than that funk you call aftershave." Rhodey retorted automatically.

Pepper watched them banter back and forth as they moved to an unoccupied lab. It was reassuring to see that Tony had his wits about him, despite everything that had happened. Then again, it had taken three months of near-death experiences to enact any kind of change in him before this…

"This is what I need!" Pym's declaration interrupted her thoughts as he scanned though an equipment list. "This analyzer is perfect."

"What exactly will you be analyzing, Doctor?" Tony asked, reservation clear in his voice.

"I'm sorry Mr. Stark, but I've got to have a small idea of how the arc reactor works in order to reverse this properly. You know as well as I do that this analyzer won't do more than give me a bare-bones idea." Pym replied. "Your secrets are still safe."

Tony sighed. Pym was right. Of course, that meant being subjected to the scanner…

'I am never never opening anything meant for the labs again.'

0o0o0o0o0

"It shouldn't take this long!" Tony yelled as the massive camera passed over his body for the sixth time. "What are you doing, looking for Waldo?"

"Calm down Tony, he's almost done." Pepper tried to sooth her increasingly-annoyed boss.

"I'll calm down when he stops snooping around inside my body."

"He's just examining you via particle waves Tony, he can't even see your skin. So unless you want to be that size for the rest of your life--"

"--or even smaller." Pym put in.

"Then deal with it." Pepper finished.

Tony fumed as the machine whirred overhead. Pepper didn't chide him again, but watched Pym carefully. He didn't seem to be trawling for any extra, secret info.

"Okay. I think I have what I need." Pym finally shut the scanner off.

"About time." Rhodey mumbled, and went to retrieve Tony from under the scanner's head. He wasn't liking this procedure any more than Tony was.

"You can fix this now, right?" Pepper asked.

Pym nodded, but didn't look happy. "I think so--but it's not going to be easy.

0o0o0o0o0

To be Continued...


	9. Chapter 9

"You have to _hit_ me?!" Tony's tiny voice had a note of hysteria, making Pepper and Rhodey wince.

"Not hit you, just create a fluctuation in your arc reactor." Pym was flustered. This wasn't going well at all. "It's what triggered the particles to go into overdrive before, and it's the only way to safely administer another dosage. If I gave you enough antidote to return you to normal without causing a flux, you could be in danger."

"Only if I get hit again."

"Considering your line of work, Mr. Stark, I'd say that's a distinct possibility." Pym replied dryly. "Ever seen an overcooked sausage burst through it's casing? Imagine that, but with you and your Iron Man suit."

"…I see the problem."

"Good. And I won't hit you. At your size it wouldn't be safe. I can electronically stimulate your reactor to create the desired effect. It won't be pleasant, and it'll involve a bit of trial and error, but--"

"Error? What kind of error?" Pepper cut in.

"I may have to repeat the process more than once. I can only estimate the size of the dose needed." Pym replied.

"This is sounding less and less safe, doctor." Rhodey said. "Can we be sure Tony won't be adversely effected?"

"95 percent sure, yes. I did through testing before I sent the serum to Stark Industries." Pym looked insulted. "And, if you'll remember, Mr. Stark wasn't supposed to go tampering with the sample."

"Okay, if we can bypass the moral lecture and the whole 'What about the other 5 percent?' parts of the conversation, I'd really appreciate it." Tony spoke up. "I'm beginning to get an inferiority complex."

"That'd be the day." Pepper muttered under her breath.

"Set Mr. Stark on the table, and step behind the observation glass." Pym instructed Rhodey and Pepper. They complied quickly, leaving Tony with the doctor.

"So, if everything goes according to plan, what will this dosage do?" Tony asked as Pym brought out a vial that was taller than he was.

"With any luck, this'll increase your size twelve fold."

"To three feet high? I'm not paying you to turn me into a munchkin!"

"A: You're not paying me. Yet. B: I can always leave you the way you are right now." Pym replied.

"Carry on."

Tony braced himself for...well he wasn't sure what exactly. This was a little bit outside his expertise, shocking as that was to admit. Pym careful poured out the particles, which collected in a gaseous mix near Tony's feet.

His stomached clenched as they took effect. There had to be a way to smooth this out: he'd ask Pym to work on that.

Pepper and Rhodey watched in amazement as Tony slowly grew. Once the process seemed to have stopped Pym waved them back in to the room.

"How do you feel?" Pepper pressed gently. He was about the size of a three year old, and did not look happy about it.

"Short." Was the sour reply. Tony peeked over the edge of the table. "But at least I won't die if I fall off this thing."

"It's better than before." Rhodey chided him, now smiling again. "You know, if you shaved we could sneak you into the play land at McDonalds."

"Please, the play lands at Burger King are obviously superior."

Pepper refrained from joining in the banter. While this was undeniably cute, she wanted Tony back at his proper size before she could feel totally at ease. "Now can you get him back to normal?"

"That's the plan." Pym replied, setting the electrodes and preparing up the dose.

But, as was so often true, reality significantly deviated from the plan.

0o0o0o0o0

To be concluded.


	10. Chapter 10

Relief flitted through Pepper's chest as Tony slowly returned to his normal size. Pym had given him the right dosage, it seemed. Maybe now they could get back to normal, and start catching up on--

Her thoughts of normalcy were disrupted as Tony suddenly shot past normal size, and the metal table collapsed underneath him noisily. Rhodey grabbed her arm and pulled her against the opposite wall as the metallic squealing stopped.

Tony sat up, and promptly whacked his head on the 8 foot ceiling. The industrialist seemed to be about 12 feet high. "OW! Pym, you stupid--"

"I can fix it!" Pym cut in worriedly. "I guess I over-estimated the force of the jolt."

"Oh, really?" Tony glared down at him. It was a little like seeing him on a movie screen. 

"I just need to re-calculate the antidote…hand on, one moment…"

"Tony, your head--" Pepper shook Rhodey off. Tony had stopped growing, he didn't pose any threat.

"It's fine Potts. Just a bump." Tony mumbled, one hand rubbing the spot. His voice rumbled deeply.

"Are you sure?" Pepper stepped forward, craning her neck. "You can't afford to pass out."

"Yes, I'm sure." Tony murmured. He was looking at Pepper curiously now.

"What?"

"I'm not used to looking _down_ at you."

"Oh." She doesn't know what to say to this.

"But, I can fix that."

Pepper held in a yelp of surprise as Tony's massive hands encircled her waist and lifted her off the floor. He was gentle, at least.

"Better."

"You look like King Kong kidnapping Fay Wray." Rhodey found his voice, but didn't move away from the wall. Tony was already too playful for his liking. 

"Mr. Stark." Pepper kept her voice cool as one shoe dropped to the floor, "This could easily be grounds for a lawsuit."

"If you didn't sue me at last spring's GQ party, you're not going to now." Tony's smirk seemed no more benign in giant form. Nonetheless, he set Pepper down, very gently. She replaced her shoe wordlessly and retreated to Rhodey's side.

"Pym, are you sure you can fix this? Before I was at least able to hide my condition." Tony, serious again, asked the scientist.

"You can't even fit through the door Tony. Hiding is the least of your worries." Rhodey replied.

"Dr. Pym?" Tony prompted.

"Yes, I can fix it, if you give me five blasted seconds to work!" Pym snapped. He was scribbling on a scrap of paper. "There. With your new dimensions, I need to give you exactly one milligram of shrinking serum to get you to normal size and keep you there."

"Good. I'm starting to fee like Alice with the 'Drink Me' bottle."

"Well, rest assured Mr. Stark, the resemblance is in predicament only, not looks." Pym said dryly as he held up a vial. "Hold still."

Tony did as he said, feeling the now familiar sensation of shrinking wash over him. It actually looked more like his surroundings were growing to their proper proportions. He stood, once his height allowed him to do so, and watched, grinning, as Pepper resumed her proper proportions in his eye.

"Welcome back, Mr. Stark." She smiled.

"Good to be back." Tony turned to Pym. "As for the serum, Pym--"

"Further tests are obviously needed." Pym said, flustered.

"Call me when it's ready. I'd like to try that again sometime, with my suit _on_."

Pepper held in a groan. Why couldn't he just stick to being a normal industrial billionaire superhero?

And why was it that, in her life, that was now a normal thought?

0o0o0o0o0

Fin


End file.
